TBILISI, July 4. /TASS/. The Georgian foreign ministry is not pleased about the Ukrainian authorities’ recommendation that Georgian Ambassador Georgy Zakarashvili should return to Tbilisi to talk over the situation with former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

"The Georgian foreign ministry expresses profound concern over the Ukrainian authorities’ decision that the Georgian ambassador should leave the country for consultations. This action is an extreme form of the aggravation of diplomatic relations and we regret that official Kiev resorts to this step with a friendly state and nation," it said.

According to the ministry, the fact that the European Court of Human Rights did not grant the appeal of Saakashvili’s lawyers for his release for medical reasons shows "the highest standards of the protection of Mikhail Saakashvili’s rights" in Georgia. "In such a situation, the Ukrainian authorities’ decision is harming strategic relations between the two countries and can be interpreted as direct interference into the domestic affairs of a sovereign state," it said.

According to the ministry, Georgia is refraining from responding to Ukraine’s actions "precisely because Ukraine is in the hot phase of the war" and the Georgian side realizes "its great responsibility in terms of international relations, especially in relations with its partners." It noted that any additional response from Tbilisi "may drive the already difficult situation to a deadlock."

The Georgian foreign ministry expressed the hope that Kiev would reconsider its decision and make efforts to develop the historically friendly relations between the two countries. It recalled that Georgia’s embassy never stopped its operations even amid the hostilities.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on Monday asked the foreign ministry to summon the Georgian ambassador and give him 48 hours to leave the country for consultations on the Saakashvili case. He once again demanded Tbilisi release Saakashvili, who is a Ukrainian citizen, so that he could be treated for his medical conditions in Kiev.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry on Tuesday suggested that the Georgian ambassador return to Tbilisi for consultations and expressed strong protest over the serious deterioration of Saakashvili’s health.

On Monday, Saakashvili took part online in a Tbilisi court session on the case of the dissolution of a rally in 2007. He looked very emaciated.

Saakashvili secretly arrived in Georgia a day before the municipal elections in October 2021, was arrested and placed in prison in the city of Rustavi. He is being accused of several crimes. In May 2022, he was placed in the Tbilisi-based Vivamed private clinic, where he has been staying ever since. The Georgian authorities claim he is pretending to be sick to dodge imprisonment.